Tips To Keep Your Little Goblins Safe

October 29, 1999|By ALISON FREEHLING Daily Press

People who want to get free X-rays of their Halloween candy and live near Williamsburg Community Hospital are in luck: The hospital apparently is the one local spot that's offering the service this year.

And even WCH is warning parents that X-rays can't pick up all of the possible problems with treats, including poisons and some types of glass. Only metal objects would show up.

"Under no circumstances is this foolproof," said Kimberly Van Sickel, spokeswoman for WCH. "We do it because it helps people feel better."

Local hospitals and clinics reported no problems with Halloween treats in recent years. Still, they offered these tips: Check treats not just for tears but for puncture holes, and beware of unwrapped candy or homemade sweets unless they're from people you know well.

"If there's anything out of the ordinary at all, even the tiniest hole, toss it," said Michele Freedman, office manager at the Tidewater Clinic in Newport News, which offered X-ray services last year.

People can go to WCH anytime on Halloween but will have to wait if there are patients who need care, Van Sickel said.

Other hospitals and clinics gave several reasons for not doing the X-rays this year, including the fact that the holiday doesn't fall on a regular business day. Some reported little past interest, while others said they had trouble handling a crunch of people after 8 p.m.

All cited the limitations of X-rays. Objects show up only if they're dense enough to block the powerful beam, said Stephen Foxx, a radiologist at Sentara Hampton General Hospital. X-rays pass through other materials just like they go through a person's skin and muscle before hitting bone.

Poison that's on or injected into a piece of candy, then, wouldn't show up. Parents should know that's extremely rare: A search of news articles from across the country found just one case of poisoned Halloween candy, in 1974. A Houston man was convicted of murdering his son and the attempted murder of three other children after he laced candy with cyanide.

Even so, Foxx said, "You can't X-ray a bag of candy and tell someone it's safe for sure." While most glass pieces will show up, he said, glass without a lot of lead might not.

Liability concerns are a factor, said Angela Lawler, spokeswoman for Mary Immaculate Hospital. "We don't want to give people the idea that the candy's OK and then have the kid eat it and get sick," Lawler said.

WCH makes it clear that X-rays can't catch every possible problem, Van Sickel said. The service hasn't been in great demand, she said; in years past, just two or three people have shown up.

Tidewater Clinic had about 50 people come out last year. If the clinic hears that a lot of people want the service back, the staff would reconsider, Freedman said.

Alison Freehling can be reached at 247-4789 or by e-mail at afreehling@dailypress.com

TRICK OR TREAT

Newport News

* 5-8 p.m. Sunday

* Only children younger than 13, or in seventh grade or lower, may participate.

* Residents should leave their porch lights on if trick-or-treaters are welcome.

Hampton

* 6-8 p.m. Sunday

York County

* 6-8 p.m. Sunday

* 12 and younger

* Residents should leave their porch lights on if trick-or-treaters are welcome.

Poquoson

* Dusk to 8 p.m. Saturday

* 12 and under

Williamsburg

* 6-8 p.m. Sunday

* 12 and under

James City County

* 5:30-8:30 p.m. Sunday

* 12 and under

Charles City

* Sunday

* No special restrictions apply, although the regular curfew is in effect. Children younger than 18 must be inside by midnight.

New Kent County

* Sunday

* No official guidelines

Smithfield

* Dusk to 8:30 p.m. Sunday

Isle of Wight

* Dusk to 8:30 p.m. Sunday

Windsor

* 5:30-8 p.m. Sunday

Surry

* 6-9 p.m. Sunday

Suffolk

* 6-8 p.m. Sunday

Gloucester

* 5 p.m. until dark Sunday

Mathews

* Sunday

* No special restrictions, although the regular midnight curfew is in effect.